


Under his Flower Crown

by Fall1ing_Softly



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alpha Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Assistant Eren Yeager, Cheating Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Doctor Grisha Yeager, Eren Has a Secret, Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridum, Eren Yeager Wears Glasses, Eren gets Hanahaki Disease, Eren has ADHD, It's dulled by the adderall though, Kinda?, Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin) Has Issues, M/M, Omega Eren Yeager, Omega Petra Ral, Petra is nice, Sheriff Levi, Sick Eren Yeager, Workaholic Levi, small town
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-02 09:45:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15793986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fall1ing_Softly/pseuds/Fall1ing_Softly
Summary: Sometimes Eren wondered if the pain was really worth it in the long run. He could have it removed, lose all of his feelings and spend the rest of his life in lovely, peaceful solitude-But then, sometimes, just sometimes, Eren would catch a quip of those thin lips. He would notice a sliver of light dance under those pale, grey eyes and feel the need to slam his head into a table multiple times.Damn it all to hell.Or, the one where Eren's dad does Hanahaki removal and Eren meets Sheriff Levi when he brings a woman in.





	1. Five Years Ago: Winter of the Flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Opinions?

It was an icy Winter when the epidemics began.

Everything up until that point had been typical of the year. Spring then Summer, then Autumn. They all followed their orderly course, sprinkling water in the early months then transitioning to the later months where the leaves fell in rusted colours to the ground. 

The annual celebrations were also participated in with the usual vigour. A healthy distraction really from what was happening behind their backs whilst the government made decisions outside of the riveting partying and joyful ignorance.

But... Then came the Winter, with its blistering winds and pure white snow, it shook their little town into a deadlock.

It was a harsh couple of months, and it seemed to last for other a hundred years. Every day was an indefinite struggle; from the slippy roads to the ghastly blocked in houses, nobody was safe from the pain it inflicted.

The salt-men which came down the roads with grit turned the roads to slush. Around each bend car's and trucks alike had to tread carefully in fear of crashing.

Many accidents were called upon. People grew more familiar with the sounds of ambulances than the sounds of birds chirping in scents of early morning dew.

It was weather to die in, weather which made everyone pile on several layers of clothes. Yet, somehow, they still managed to be cold.

To some, it was like hell had frozen over and rose to the surface. The mist wrapped around their ankles on early mornings as they scraped the thin layers of frost on their windshields down. It ensnared itself there, whispering about how the summer would never come again, as it sunk its teeth into their flesh.

This would cause little white bumps to rise to the surface and people would scratch, and scratch, and scratch until the skin flaked away and scattered to the floor.  

Eren noticed the increased demand for his father's herbal remedies for heat rashes. He decided to wear thick socks after turning away from their steadily emptying cupboard.

Just as a precaution. 

In truth, it really appeared like the sun would never bless their pale faces again. That's what the local newspaper liked the theorize anyway. Of course, they dramatised everything, they only did that to make it appear as if the end of the world was upon their delicate shoulders.

The days were expected to be the same: Miserable and cold. That's what everybody thought. Especially because of the temperature continuing to decline. 

Hell, that's what Eren thought with his snot-ridden nose and cold-riddled body.

However, then came the first case of Hanahaki Disease on one dull, Monday morning, stumbling through their back door with blood frothing at her mouth. With an expression of terror that Eren would never forget, her eyes wide and feral like a monster through the fog-

Then came the several cases after that- 

_And, for Eren, he realised nothing would ever be the same again after the second came barrelling through the door._


	2. Two Years Ago:  When spring begins

> _The wind outside began to howl, cruel and merciless, battering a melody of suffocation against the window._
> 
> _It threatened to smash under the pressure, leaves splashing in broken shades of red and brown against the clear material, staining it. But, it didn't, remaining intact even under the relentless pounding, desperate anger._
> 
> _He panted heavily, head swimming and eyes watering whilst his dry tongue cried out for a liquid of which he couldn't give it. Not anymore, never again._
> 
> _The chair below him creaked, groaning against the floorboards as he slumped forward, fumbling with the pen in his hand weakly._
> 
> _The black ink was one, long, strand- Full, almost as if prepared perfectly for his final presentation. No more dress rehearsals._
> 
> _His body was weak, disintegrating into the atmosphere like precious little pixels and he lowered his lashes in concentration. Static buzzed at the back of his head, throat parched and hoarse whilst his mind wavered, wanting nothing more than to rest._
> 
> _Rest would come soon, but not yet. Not now._
> 
> _A sliver of a smile stretched at his cracked lips, tearing open the skin and causing blood to trickle very slowly down._
> 
> _Then, with a tired difficulty, he began to write. It was clumsy, child-like, but writing nonetheless._
> 
> _And that made him ever-so-happy._
> 
> _He would've cried if he could._
> 
> _'I'm happy, you know? So, so happy._
> 
> _Or, at least that's why I tell myself. Is anyone really happy? Deep, deep, down in their subconscious everyone is always looking for more. More happiness, more of something, and since I'm such a complicated specimen, I'm not really sure what 'Happy is anymore.' An illusion? Man-made prosthetic in order for us to feel some artificial hope and make it easier for us to work through our daily life?_
> 
> _To tell myself that I'm feeling happy would be the same as telling a newborn baby, 'No.'. My body doesn't really really commute with my commands anymore, or should I say my mind? They work together in this sickening dance of life, so I guess I should refer to both. Though the thought is amusing, as I'm talking about it ever did begin with. But I suppose I would like to believe that I'm happy, even if it is only an illusion. I want to smile and sing as my pen flares across this wrinkly creased paper. Do I get to want to do that? I do._
> 
> _I'm not lonely either, although I can never see you again. Instead... I feel content like a warm blanket has been laid across my frostbitten body, helped heal my brittle bones._ _This kind of paradox is one of both cruelty and kindness._ _One which I ripple through my fingers through, savouring it's calming texture as the ocean thunders through my heart and makes tsunami's collapse in my lungs._
> 
> _Do I regret saving her you ask?_ _My answer will always be no._
> 
> _Because that is how you got to meet her, and she got to meet you too. Almost romantic, despite the circumstances. It's funny. It was like a constellation of stars had erupted in the waiting room as you desperately clutched her hand, despite barey even knowing her- At least, not much according to what you told me._
> 
> _The dust from those stars sparkled in little balls of fire, fell like snowfakes and I didn't dare enter the waiting room and interrupt that picture-perfect moment of raw humanity._
> 
> _It wasn't my place, never would be as it turns out.'_

* * *

There was no fast or painless way to treat the Hanahaki Disease. In the same way, there was also no fast or painless way to perform the surgery needed to remove it from those inflicted with the disease.

Eren would know, after the three years of experience he had under his belt from observing the way his father sliced deftly into delicate flesh. He had quickly grown used to handling the blade himself, from the amount of hands-on practice he had with many of their clients. You have to in those situations, begin to slowly grow numb whilst skin splits like an over-ripe peach- He didn't really have a choice. 

You might consider the fact that he was overreacting, that they must have had maybe the odd one or two clients a year come into his Fathers humble little home- However, ever since the “Winter of the Flowers” as people were more commonly addressing it as, the number of desperate people which needed their help had dramatically increased. It wasn't pleasant by any means, was a growing cause for concern. But, when there are not enough practitioners in the illness, there is very little funding and hence actions which can be taken to take further preventative measures-

It's why they got to live pretty comfortably if there had to be any positive to be found through the mesh of shit and agony. 

Before the Winter, they worked on animals most commonly, very rarely would they work on a human. Aside from a broken arm here and there, nothing every really came around which was of massive importance in their small little village of Sina. (A place for those too cowardly to expand their knowledge towards a new horizon.)

So, when the Winter came around and suddenly people everywhere were experiencing flowers exploding through their chest at a rapid rate, it was only to be assumed that they would soon change from helping asthmatic dogs to choking humans- Old or young, fat or skinny with the only common factor being an unrequited love. Which, seemed utterly cruel of the earth, as if unrequited love wasn't punishable enough. 

Anyway. At the end of the day, the sky-rocket in casualties clearly meant that Eren would be acquiring a lot more practice, given the helpful hand he always offered his dad. This especially since not a lot of doctors dared to perform such difficult surgeries and instead administrated medicines which would only slow the process and make it more painful.

Although the word practice, he had to admit, was a crude way to put his father training him.

So, with all that in mind, you would think that he would be aware of when they were in quite a critical condition right?

Exactly.

Hence, when he heard the barely audible swear from his father as he wiped the sweat from his wrinkled forehead, he knew they might be in trouble with this one-

Not only because his father was slowly edging towards feeling frustrated, but also because he could see the veins of the woman gently beginning to creep to the surface of her skin. That meant that her lungs weren't being supplied with the oxygen they needed and that they'd have to work with an increased pace.

His eyebrows creased in concentration as trailed his tongue over his cracked lips, remembering the way they had ushered her in.

* * *

I _t had been a normal day until an ominous banging rocked the entire household into a state of emergency._

_As things turned out, the Sheriff had shown up with a woman dangling, naked, from his arms with rasping breaths._

_It had taken Eren a minute to get past his sudden explosion of admiration before he was shooting into action, observing the actual state of her body. This was important to see which state of the blooming process she was at._

_Very clearly, she was in her last stages before the disease was at its completion._

_She was visibly pale, in no condition to be walking, barely managing to clasp onto the Sheriff’s leather-clad arm._

_Her expression had been turning slightly purple from the lack of oxygen her system was able to accumulate. Her light brown hair was wet against her face, drenched with sweat from the sheer effort it took to simply breathe, and her entire body had been glowing with a sheen of sweat. Worst of all though had been her eyes, which had been dulled to the point of barely focusing and her pupils were rapidly dilating and then not-_

_Swiftly, without much description, the Sheriff had explained how he had been the one to find her. Apparently, he’d been on patrol around the woods due to some suspicious activity, when suddenly there he found her, hacking up blood in a stream of scarlet curd._

_“She was just there alright? Now stop fucking dilly-dallying and do what you’re paid to do.”_

_His voice was gravelly, laced with both annoyance and panic and something just so completely Ackerman that it took Eren’s omega off-guard._

_(He didn't care to think about why the Sheriff had caught her like this, why she was naked or how the Sheriff had found her. For some reason even attempting to cross that tight-rope made a coiling, disgusting, anxiety bubble up like acid in his stomach.)_

_He’d always looked up to him, ever since he moved to the town when he was a little boy. The one_ _with the chopped undercut and cravat and the irresistible scent which Eren sometimes found himself following down the street sometimes._ _Not like he'd ever actually mention it though. He'd probably get kicked in the dick for it anyway, just like that time he was publicly punished for something he was hardly responsible for._ _Not like Ackerman had to know about that either. You weren’t supposed to keep secrets from the Sheriff, but just a couple couldn’t harm anyone._

_His blank facade had been cracking as the worry began to increase, teetering just below the mask and shining through with his scent. Despite the reputation he had created for himself and the image he presented himself with, one which Eren observed critically. It was clear that he was growing panicked, which was the reason his Dad had even came barrelling down the stairs anyway._

_That was when the smaller man came barging through further, after noticing his appearance with barely concealed fury at the delay, voice a thick growl;_

_"Do I need to speak in fucking Spanish? Get moving already.”_

_Not needing any more than those falsely calm words, Grisha had quickly removed her from his arms, taking her to the basement where he forced her onto a metal table in the centre. Eren had swallowed thickly, hesitating in only a singular moment of weakness as a flash of liquid splashing to the floor flashed by his eyes-_

_But, then, by the bitter scent of irritation bashing into his brain like a hammer from the Sheriff, he finally got himself into gear._

_Re-adjusting the table, he tried not to glance at the river of scarlet which just wouldn't go away no matter how many times bleach breached its surface. Then, he took a deep, calming breath and lengthened the straps from either side. It looked quite morbid if the Sheriff's momentary squint was anything to go by, but Eren couldn't concentrate on the images which it brought with it at that moment. It was important to move with speed._

_They didn’t have enough time. That probably would’ve been helped if Eren had stood there like a gaping fish._

_He had moved in a flurry, strapping down her arms and legs with the leather cuffs on either side of her frail body. It was just so that she wouldn’t lurch too hard, hence why there was also a belt going across the bottom part of her mid-section. That one couldn’t be too tight though, otherwise, it would apply pressure to the base of the ribcage and cause the lungs to thump harder._

_Any mistake at that point could’ve been critical- Any point really._

_His eyes were wide and focused, almost beginning to tear up with the sheer concentration of the scents which assaulted his newly presented nose._

_Eren had tried to move in time with his father, synchronising their movements as he ran for the medical box in his father's wooden draws. Immediately after grasping his clammy hands around the metal handle, he'd slammed it on to a silver trolley and pushed it to his Dad's side._

_Then, came the plugging in of the heart monitor and the sticking of the electrodes down her chest, legs, and back. They hadn't had time for a breathing tube, but Eren had clasped a gas-mask around her already knocked out body. At some point, she must have passed out due to the pain, not that he could blame her. It may not have been proper etiquette, but he and his Father had tried the surgery before without it and it resulted in disaster- So, he did it anyway, out of both caution and necessity._

_Either that, or she died. End of story._

_“Eren, uniform.”_

_“Already on it.”_

_His Dad had already situated his mask on, when Eren turned to face him, following their regular procedure. Eren had instantly followed to do the same, the pair of them wearing matching aprons and gloves after thoroughly washing their hands._

_Eren would forever deny that he fumbled with the chords of his apron when silver eyes penetrated the back of his head and the ocean thundered onwards in his ears._

_Always._

* * *

Anyway, that had led to them to where they were now, with them both sweating out of the sheer intensity of their focus. Their hands were caked in blood, stray petals little decorations on their dyed aprons which hardly helped the scent of agony which rippled around the room in devastating waves. It was nauseating, rocking into his knees and making his toes curl with the coldness descending down his veins. 

Eren dug his teeth into his lip, crushing it under the pressure of his anxiety as he watched his Father work with a tender touch on the sharp tool between his long fingers.

His Dad had to be careful when slicing open the chest with a scalpel, when cracking the rips to get to the lungs, as if one thing went wrong it would send the body into shock. Then, after the body convulsed, the roots would dig their way all the way to the heart in an instant and all they'd have is a dead person on their table. The roots had their own moral compass, like a reaper deciding which judgement call it would make and when- All because somebody decided to like somebody unattainable. 

(He wondered who it was that this woman had liked- So much so that she would let it get to this stage. But, then he thought back to how sickly the Sheriff had looked when bringing her in, how rigid his jaw currently was, almost cracking teeth under the pressure, and decided to ignore it. It was none of his business.)

Eren was used to taking part in the surgery, that wasn't the part that bothered him. What bothered him the most, was watching his Dad peel away the roots from the lungs once they were finally exposed to the air- Seeing how they came out like a thin string between the pads of his fingers was complete and utter nightmare fuel, even more so than the man-eating monsters which he had plastered all over his bedroom walls.

All of them were joined, like a yarn of wool, and had to be removed in one long pull. It was horrendous, and sometimes it could go on forever. The brunet remembered a time that it had taken them half-an-hour just to untangle the roots from around the necks of the flowers of which they choked savagely.

They had to be careful that the woman didn’t lose too much blood. That was crucial-

Oh god, Eren could cry at seeing the number of vibrant lavender roses which were protruding from the flesh of her lungs. It was a good job that they anesthetised her before getting to work. He couldn't imagine being under that much began without anaesthetic. 

Love at first sight, the symbolised- But that was just so goddamn depressing, so ironic that it almost had him balling right then and there.

He took a shuddering breath, casting a cautious glance towards the Sheriff who had absolutely refused to leave, even though it was important for the process to be in private for maximum efficiency.

Somehow, the flowers could detect smells.

Nobody could understand why, and Eren couldn’t find it in himself to research into it out of fear. However, he assumed it was down to their secondary gender and the way the Hanahaki disease corrupted the cells and appeared to scan the DNA.  After doing this, they somehow evolved their cellular structure and began to be able to sense specific hormones, which he theorised was a safety mechanism, in case the victim they coil around somehow ends up meeting their destined mate just as the last vine grows too deep. At least, that was what Eren had read from his Father’s files, which he wasn’t supposed to read anyway but oh well. What he didn’t know wouldn’t harm him, in that instance.

The Sheriff returned his glance with a raised eyebrow, which soon turned into a flat-out glare. Eren tried not to flinch, tried to quench a certain something which crawled down his throat at the sight of venom in the Sheriff's eyes, and he swallowed the liquorice which lay thick on his tongue. 

_Ignore it._

Right, Eren quickly diverted his attention to the task at hand. Somebody was dying.

Grisha was in the process of lightly snipping off sections of the long rot he was removing, clicking and cutting at a rapid speed. Not to brag, but Eren was typically faster- But, his Dad had refused to let him do anything more than help him adjust the body or press down on her shoulders this time around. That was probably down to the fact that the Sheriff was in the room at the time, dressed in similar attire whilst watching them with deadly precision.

Reaching forward, Eren moved the bowl of leaves which his Father had picked out with one hand before returning it to the woman’s shoulders.

Apparently, the flowers didn’t need to be removed because they wilted inside the body after the roots were removed. Nobody really understood why or how because it was completely over the edge of human possibility, as well as science, but once they wilted they turned to nutrients. They also led to a faster recovery after the surgery, because they also appeared to have rapid healing properties-

But also had a specific chemical which was released into the bloodstream and managed to wipe those emotions tide with the flowers away. This was to a realm unknown to scientists and doctors alike. It was like, a blessing wrapped in a curse.

People say that you get it because you tempt fate and don't follow your red string, but Eren figured it was just down to certain people being susceptible to it and others not. Though, that didn't mean that the idea didn't sound romantic-

But Eren was a bit of a realist and didn't like summing everything up to the make-believe because that way no cure without much repercussions could ever be created.

Some told him never to tempt fate after their surgeries, told him that his father was a good man and didn't deserve a mother who would stride away from her red ribbon of destiny.

He punched those customers, and his father didn't mind.

Once the flowers reached the stage of blooming inside the bronchi, the petals unfurling, gas exchange exceeded to the plane of being almost impossible to happen. So, with the newfound difficulty in breathing for the patients, his Dad had to very careful in supplying oxygen to the body and get the treatment done quickly. This was because the plants would begin to grow outwards due to light be the limiting factor for their photosynthesis to occur.

It was a ghastly sight when the indentations began showing on the skin. No matter how many times Eren saw it, it never got any better. It was like abstract art which crushed itself into the skin. 

Sometimes, when he went to bed at night, he could still see them, imagined them crawling down his arms all the way to his toes. All the patients they received reached that critical condition due to leaving it to the last second. That was when the roots reached the cerebral cortex and the medulla of the brain, dramatic declining their circulation and ability to make decisions. As if clogged up lungs wasn't enough, the roots have to be thin enough to not jam up the veins and head around the spine and up to the brain. 

They were told to come in the minute they noticed the flowers, not when they began to forget what they've done the entire day. Typical people.

Apparently, you can feel the petals scraping against your insides, but this is nothing compared to the previous root-growing stage- When the lungs would begin to feel crushed under the sheer pressure of the roots worming their way through and constricting the organ. So, to imagine those being pulled out made Eren wince, and he wiped his hands down his apron in an anxiety-ridden gesture.

"Eren."

His father's voice snapped him out of his inner monologue, and he glanced up to see exasperated blue-greyish eyes.

 _"Focus,"_ he hissed under his breath, and Eren nodded his head like a bobble-head, straightening his back.

Right now, there was no time for zoning out, especially when his father was almost reaching the completion point of the surgery. The majority of the roots laid untidily on the metal tray beside him, his dad's fingers beginning to expand and swell with the venom slowly sinking into his pores-

Coincidently, although the chemicals from the flowers didn’t harm the body, the liquid which ran through the roots did. That didn't mean that they didn't look like bloody, see-through spaghetti in the bowl on the side. Gross. 

A vein throbbed in his temple as he clenched his jaw, his eyes focusing with a steely precision. Her heart-rate was slowing to a dangerously slow ba-thump beneath her skin. Eren could see it in the way her body was taking laboured breathes, in the way her eyes fret from underneath her closed eyelids. The low thump, thump, thump, drilled into his mind mercilessly, making his hands clench and unclench with every flutter of her eyelashes, with every strained breath which only pumped her blood in a race to kill her at a much faster rate. 

He glanced at the clock. They'd been at work for six hours. 

 _“Dad,”_ he stressed the name, trying his best to ignore the holes being engraved into his back, the sound of clenching muscles, “She's going to wake up soon.”

To his surprise, Grisha just nodded, biting out a, “I know, Eren.”

“No,” Eren grit, tensing his fingers on the fragile skin of her shoulders, “You don’t. You need to try and pick up the pace or use some of that serum to keep her fighting until you’re done. If she wakes up-”

“Did you administer some of it already?”

He absolutely despised that dismissive tone of voice, even when he could smell his Father’s growing frustration.

To his credit, the Sheriff remained completely silent at the end of the room, even though his ever-increasing glare was doing wonders to communicate how angry he was getting- Although, not even he could hide away the whirlpool of emotions just below the surface, not from Eren’s sharp nose.   

“No,” Eren admitted, watching as his father began to stitch up one of the incisions he had made with the last of the roots immediately removed, “Didn’t want to risk it with the venom still in her bloodstream. We already know how it reacts with it within twenty-four hours of the venom taking effect. But- I can smell the crease of her pheromones dilapidating- "

And wasn't that the truth. It was a wall crumbling, rot and death stinking up the room, completely over-powering the stench of rage and concern. His insides churned at the attack, pins and needles stabbing into his lower stomach which crudely pointed spears. 

His Dad nodded his head, continuing to weave the last of the absorbable stitches through the ripped opening, which he had trimmed some of the damaged skin off so that it could heal in a neater, and easier fashion. 

The bottle of cleaning solution dripped ominously beside him. 

"So you think a shock to her system might get her scents reacting more strongly?"

"Yeah," he nodded firmly, straightening his shoulders, and his Dad sent him a calculative look before returning his nod with a snip of his scissors, cutting off the remaining string for the last incision. 

"Do it."

And so he did. 

They only had to resuscitate her once. 

He refused to speak about how the sickening crunch of her body as it slammed against the metal table continued to echo in his ears, or how the overly-sweet scent of relief choked her patient room with aged, arthritic hands as the Sheriff sat by her bedside, brows furrowed.

* * *

 Eren later learned that the woman was named Petra Ral, and it was such a pretty name that it made his stomach ache. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a very late chapter, I know. Thank you for being patient :)


End file.
